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surplus

surplus

noun SOOR-ploos Less Common

Origin: French surplus, 'over and above'

Usage Note

Surplus is an invariable loanword from French, unchanged in the plural (i surplus). It is used in economics (surplus commerciale = 'trade surplus') and everyday language (un surplus di offerta = 'a surplus of supply'). The pronunciation in Italian is adapted from French; unlike most Italian nouns, it has no grammatical gender marking by ending — it is masculine by convention.

Examples

"Il paese ha registrato un surplus commerciale."

Natural Translation

The country recorded a trade surplus.

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